Governor of Victoria makes special visit to Skinners’ Academy

The achievements of Mosaic’s secondary school mentoring programme were recently showcased to Her Excellency the honourable Linda Dessau AM, Governor of Victoria, during a special visit to Skinners’ Academy in North Hackney.

Her Excellency, the representative in the Australian state of Victoria of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, was welcomed to Skinners’ Academy, a school in the socio-economically deprived area of Woodberry Down, and invited to watch a Rapport Building session from Mosaic’s secondary school programme where mentors meet students for the first time.

Mosaic’s secondary school group mentoring sees mentors work with groups of up to 30 students, aged between 11 and 18 years old. The programme aims to raise the aspirations, confidence, self-belief, motivation and employability skills of young people.

Students are mentored in small groups (of between three and five) and participate in a range of activities that directly enhance their ability to compete in future educational and professional environments. In the academic year 2015/16, over 1,500 young people in 77 schools will be mentored by 577 volunteer mentors

Jonathan Freeman, Managing Director of Mosaic, said: “Her Excellency was able to see first-hand the fantastic work our mentors do to support pupils and help them achieve their goals, and we were very pleased that she gave up her time to visit Skinners’ Academy, which like Mosaic has the vision for every pupil to ‘be the best you can’.

“Last year, for the first time, the school took part in the Mosaic Enterprise Challenge, a national business enterprise competition. The winning team, iRoundUp, was from Skinners’ and beat 4,000 other students to be crowned national champions!”

On 1 July 2015, the Honourable Linda Dessau AM was sworn in as Victoria’s 29th Governor, the first female in the role. The Governor attended the University of Melbourne, gaining the degree of LLB (Hons). In 1975 she was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria.

Outside the law, the Governor has been engaged in a broad range of community organisations, including as founding Chair of the Essendon Football Club Women’s Network, President of Middle Park Primary School Council, Vice-President of Wesley College Council, a Board member of Turning Point Drug and Alcohol Centre, and a member of the Royal Children’s Hospital Ethics Committee.

Endorsements

HRH Princess Badiya bint El Hassan of Jordan

It has been a great privilege to have been part of Mosaic's fantastic development over the years. I believe in Mosaic's mission to help young people to fulfil their positive potential, and to give those who have already done well the rewarding opportunity to volunteer and give back to their... Read More